(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

By Nate Clauser
Chair, Somerville Ward 5 Democratic Committee

Somerville’s charter is like a constitution for the city, a blueprint for the structure of our local government. The current city charter, which dates to 1899, specifies a strong mayor form of government in which the mayor must initiate the expenditure of funds, and the city council’s only authority in this arena is to either approve or cut from the mayor’s proposed appropriations. The council does not currently have the power to allocate funds on its own, nor does it even have the power to reallocate funds that it has cut from a proposed mayoral appropriation.

The city council and mayor are now in the final stages of a years-long process to review and rewrite Somerville’s charter. Both prior to and during this process – which will likely conclude in the coming weeks with a proposed new charter that the city will send to the state government for approval — a big part of the public rationale offered for overhauling the charter was the need to shift the balance of power between the mayor and the city council, especially with regard to budgetary powers. As another resident recently noted, having a weak city council without the power to even reallocate funds “makes a mockery of advocacy, wastes community engagement, and threatens to dissipate the civic activism that is so foundational to Somerville’s culture.”

The current mayor said that she shared the goal of shifting power to the city council. In a 2021 candidate questionnaire, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne committed to “supporting, in [her] first term, a home rule petition that would end Somerville’s present strong mayor system of government in favor of a system that would shift substantial powers to the City Council.” Indeed, she further noted in that questionnaire that she “would like to see the new charter give a more substantial role to the city council in matters such as the budgeting process.” 

And Mayor Ballantyne wasn’t the only 2021 candidate who supported strengthening the powers of the city council in budgetary matters. Then-Council-President Matt McLaughlin, who has touted himself as “the leader” on this issue, published a piece in The Somerville Times in early 2021 in which he declared the following: “Any charter reform must address the inequality of the budget process. . . . If the Council votes to make cuts, that vote should be respected. If we decide by majority vote that funds should be spent differently, that should also be respected.”

While campaigning for office, other current city councilors made similar statements and commitments regarding the inclusion of increased budgetary powers for the Council in a new charter. Councilor Jake Wilson noted that “the single biggest change that needs to be made is a better balancing of powers between the City Council and the Mayor’s office by giving the council wider powers than the thumbs up or down on budgets and spending.” Councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld said that she’d “like to see the budget process in the city mirror what happens at the state and federal level, with the City Council actively engaged with proposing changes, not just cuts.” Councilor Charlotte Kelly noted that “Councilors in the City of Boston are currently exploring the possibility of giving the City Council the ability to reallocate funds within a budget instead of solely having the ability to cut, I believe Somerville should at the minimum change our budget process to do the same.” Councilor Beatriz Gomez Mouakad stated that “The Charter reform should allow the City Council to have greater oversight of the city budget.” Councilor Lance Davis said that “[f]irst and foremost, we must revise the Charter to provide the City Council more authority and autonomy. Our current system puts too much power in the hands of one person to the detriment of the more representative City Council.” Councilor Kristen Strezo said “I would like to see the City Council have more power in regard to the budget and city operations.” Councilor Willie Burnley Jr  said “I’m hoping that”I’m hoping that the Charter Review balances power between our local executive and legislative branches.” Councilor Jesse Clingan stated that “[he]’d like to see a more  balanced power system between the executive branch and the legislative branch.” Councilor JT Scott said that “the Legislative branch should . . . secure direct budgetary power to establish and fund initiatives.” And current City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen called for “improving and strengthening the City Council’s independent authority and capacity to . . . reallocate funds within the budget.”

Despite what was an overwhelming consensus during their campaigns, the city councilors, with the mayor’s apparent support, now seem poised to propose a new city charter that does not include a substantial shift in the budgetary powers of the city council. Even more disappointingly, no councilor has even called for a vote on a resolution to include budgetary reallocation powers for the city council in the draft charter.

There is still time to change course, however, and I hope that the councilors will see fit to do so in light of their clear public statements and commitments on this issue when they were running for office. At the very least, the council should hold a vote on a proposal to include budgetary reallocation powers for the council in the draft charter. A recorded vote will let Somerville residents see who has stayed true to their commitments on this issue and then hold any elected officials accountable for their failure to do so.